As tempting as it might be for the Dodgers to trade for Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton, the remaining money on his contract isn’t a good fit for a team trying to achieve more financial flexibility. Just ask the Angels what kind of an albatross a contract like that can be. (Photo by Christian Petersen, Getty Images)

Let’s begin by paying tribute to Giancarlo Stanton by doing what he typically does, by hitting a juicy, belt-high fastball 400-plus feet.

Every team in baseball would want this guy, including the Marlins – if they could pay him in live chickens or a similar alternate form of currency.

Any bare-bones decision to add Stanton requires the brain power of a rosin bag, a hitter of his prowess welcomed even on the ’27 Yankees, whose regular right fielder was none other than Babe Ruth.

Who couldn’t use 59 homers, 132 RBI and a .631 slugging percentage? Who wouldn’t want the reigning National League MVP?

Of course, there’s nothing bare about the bones involved in acquiring Stanton, who has 10 years and $295 million remaining on a contract that could financially cripple Vermont.

No, this decision requires a tiny bit of brain power, which makes it the perfect topic to be discussed in this space.

Stanton is a local, a product of Notre Dame High in Sherman Oaks. He grew up a Dodgers fan, the overwhelming assumption being that he now wants to be a Dodgers player.

He has a full no-trade clause, giving him the final call on any deal, Stanton’s power not limited to the batter’s box. This has led to more speculation that he’ll simply force his way into Dave Roberts’ lineup.

On Thursday, he met with officials from the hated Giants, a development that prompted panicked cries that the Dodgers absolutely have to trade for Stanton, if for no other reason than to prevent him from going to San Francisco.

Ah, folks, this isn’t putting in a waiver-wire claim on a situational lefty in mid-August to block the intended move of a rival.

This is committing a decade and enough money to annually bankroll a decent bullpen to a player who has appeared in more than 145 games only once – last season – since the start of 2012.

The Dodgers have been penalized by the luxury tax for five consecutive years. Thanks to a few expiring contracts, they’re one year away from having increased financial flexibility, the exact sort of thing coveted by the team’s front office.

Under Andrew Friedman’s regime, the Dodgers have been impressively reluctant to do a full Arte Moreno, to splurge spectacularly – and regrettably – on any one player.

All of which suggests Stanton’s potentially debilitating contract doesn’t fit into the Dodgers’ plans, no matter how perfectly his potentially exhilarating bat might fit into their order.

Then again, he can opt out after another three seasons and $77 million, a decision that would cost him a guaranteed $218 million but a promise of which might greatly entice the Dodgers.

Still, it’s worth remembering that this isn’t LeBron James and this isn’t basketball, where a single player can redirect the balance of an entire conference by changing teams.

The Marlins have had Stanton for eight years and, although it’s not his fault, they’ve never had as much as a winning season during that time. His presence alone assures nothing.

When Moreno and the Angels acquired Albert Pujols, Sports Illustrated marked the momentous occasion by placing the slugger on their cover with the headline “Power Shift, A New Road to the World Series.”

Six seasons later, Pujols and the Angels are still wandering about while their GPS remains in perpetual “rerouting” mode, the road to the latest World Series instead going north on the 5 Freeway.

And don’t forget about that little nugget. The Dodgers were just nine innings away from winning the World Series with a roster that gelled so well that, by the end, they should have been topped by whipped cream.

Should Friedman and his staff really now mess so dramatically with all of that?

While trading for Stanton sounds like every team’s fantasy, this isn’t fantasy baseball. You don’t just collect all the best stat-builders and then do a bunch of arithmetic after the last out to see who won.

For a game that has remained remarkably simple for nearly two centuries – hitting a pitched ball with a wooden bat – baseball is almost incomprehensibly difficult when it comes to establishing team and lineup chemistry.

Let’s be honest, the whole process is a complete mystery. Here we are debating the merits of adding a $295-million slugger, trying to determine how much – if at all – such a move would improve the Dodgers.

Meanwhile, there’s no arguing that this team’s batting order became decidedly more whole this summer when $535,000 Chris Taylor was moved to the leadoff spot.

Ridiculous? Sure, but if baseball made sense, there’d never be a day when Derek Jeter would be leading the Marlins and Alex Rodriguez’s girlfriend would be campaigning for Rodriguez to lead the Yankees.

And, if trading for Giancarlo Stanton were that easy, there’d be no excuse for missing the chance, especially for the Dodgers.

But this is one juicy, belt-high fastball they should let pass. There’s a reason players rarely are signed for 10 years or more. Unless Stanton is going to opt out, the Dodgers shouldn’t opt in.

Jeff Miller has been a sports columnist since 1998, having previously written for the Palm Beach Post, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald. He began at the Register in 1995 as beat writer for the Angels.

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